Chapter 4: There and Back

Ron Ferguson

Conor Ames

Ron Ferguson

Southwestern Western, narrative ballad, corrido

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[INTRO — RIDING RHYTHM — 4 BARS]
[ACOUSTIC GUITAR + LOW FIDDLE]

[VERSE 1]
Three days west of peaceful Greenvale,
Rain came sideways after dark;
Cold enough to drown the campfire,
Black enough to hide a spark.
Then Kit spotted smoke below them,
Down beside a cottonwood;
Three men camped at Dead Mule Creek there,
And their supper smelled damn good.

[VERSE 2]
Torren studied them through field glass,
Gideon watched the horses tied;
Abel said, "They may be friendly."
Wade said, "Then let friendly ride."
Billy Baggs was cold and hungry,
But before he'd made a sound,
Gideon told them, "Here's our sneak, boys.
Billy, kindly look around."

[INSTRUMENTAL STOP]

Billy stared at Gideon.

[BEAT]

Grey smiled.

[VERSE 3]
Billy crawled along the creek bed,
Cursing Gideon as he went,
Slipped between the rocks and willows,
Reached the strangers' ragged tent.
He had nearly reached their horses
When a pistol hammer clicked;
A voice behind him said, "Don't twitch, son."
Billy very wisely didn't.

[LOW FIDDLE NOTE — HUMOR ENDS]

[VERSE 4]
They were wanted men from somewhere,
Hard-eyed riders, rough and mean;
Three repeaters lay beside them,
More revolvers could be seen.
Their leader asked him, "Who you riding
With this far beyond the farms?"
Billy answered, "No one, mister."
Then they tied behind his arms.

[VERSE 5]
One found tracks above the creek bed,
One went climbing toward the trail;
Billy heard a rifle chamber—
Knew his little lie would fail.
Then a voice came through the darkness,
Easy, calm and almost bored;
Gideon Grey called, "Evening, gentlemen.
Best untie the boy you stored."

[INSTRUMENTAL — LOW TREMOLO GUITAR]

[VERSE 6 — DIALOGUE]
Their leader laughed and told old Gideon,
"Ride away while riding's free."
Gideon answered, "Can't do that, friend.
That small fellow rides with me."
The outlaw raised his rifle slowly,
Said, "Then Grey, you've made your choice."
Gideon said, "You know my name, then."
Something changed inside his voice.

[2 BEATS SILENCE]

[VERSE 7]
The rifle fired—

[HARD PERCUSSION CRACK]

Grey's Colt answered,
Old cap-and-ball against repeat;
One shot knocked the rifle sideways,
Second kicked dust at his feet.
Before the other two could draw down,
Grey had cocked that Colt once more;
Gideon told them, "Three remain, boys.
Let's not find what they are for."

[BRIEF INSTRUMENTAL — FIDDLE + GUITAR TENSION]

[VERSE 8]
But fear can make a fool courageous,
And the biggest outlaw drew;
Torren shouted, Billy ducked down—
Then a flash split darkness through.
Fire rolled across the creek bed,
Thunder shook the cottonwood;
All three outlaws dropped their weapons.

Gideon Grey did too.

[2 BARS — INSTRUMENTS NEAR SILENCE]

[VERSE 9]
Torren crossed himself and whispered,
"Thunder Caller, just as told."
Gideon stared down at his fingers,
Where his flash-powder tube he'd rolled.
He had meant to make a bright light,
Maybe smoke enough to run—

But no powder in his jacket
Could have made what had been done.

[CORRIDO RHYTHM ENTERS — SUBTLE]

[CHORUS]
There are lies a man can live by,
There are truths he doesn't know;
There are trails that start in Greenvale
Where a man don't mean to go.
Billy Baggs had tried his sneaking,
Gideon Grey had called the flame—
And neither one was quite as certain
Who had earned his growing name.

[VERSE 10 — RELEASE TENSION]
The three outlaws left their supper,
Left some ammunition too;
Left in such a mighty hurry
That they left their horses' shoes.
Abel cut the rope from Billy,
Asked him, "How'd the sneaking go?"
Billy looked across at Gideon—

Gideon said, "He'll learn."

Billy said, "No."

[SHORT FIDDLE TURN]

[VERSE 11]
They ate supper by the creek bed,
Found dry blankets, beans and bread;
Finn asked Grey about the lightning,
Grey pretended not to dread.
Gideon told him, "Ancient secret.
Takes a lifetime to explain."
Then he quietly checked his powder—

And looked upward for the rain.

[FINAL CHORUS — WARMER]
There are lies a man can live by,
There are truths he doesn't know;
There are roads beyond the homestead
Only travelling can show.
Billy wasn't much at sneaking—

Not that anybody could tell—

And Professor Gideon Grey
Had started doubting Grey as well.

[INSTRUMENTAL OUTRO — 8 BARS]
[FIDDLE + SPANISH GUITAR]
[COLT MOTIF: THREE SHORT NOTES]
[THUNDER MOTIF ANSWERS ON LOW GUITAR]
[STRONG FULL-BAND CADENCE]
[HARD END]
[NO WHISPER — NO FADE — NO SPOKEN OUTRO]

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[CHAPTER 4 — WESTERN STORY BALLAD — 112 BPM — D MINOR] [LOW MALE BARITONE NARRATOR — DRY, CONTROLLED, CLEAR DICTION] [ACOUSTIC GUITAR — UPRIGHT BASS — BRUSHED SNARE — LOW FIDDLE] [SPANISH GUITAR ANSWERS — HARMONICA SPARSE] [THIRD PERSON — IDENTIFY ALL QUOTED SPEAKERS] [BEGIN LIGHT — GRADUALLY BECOME GENUINELY DANGEROUS] [INTRO — RIDING RHYTHM — 4 BARS] [ACOUSTIC GUITAR + LOW FIDDLE] [VERSE 1] Three days west of peaceful Greenvale, Rain came sideways after dark; Cold enough to drown the campfire, Black enough to hide a spark. Then Kit spotted smoke below them, Down beside a cottonwood; Three men camped at Dead Mule Creek there, And their supper smelled damn good. [VERSE 2] Torren studied them through field glass, Gideon watched the horses tied; Abel said, "They may be friendly." Wade said, "Then let friendly ride." Billy Baggs was cold and hungry, But before he'd made a sound, Gideon told them, "Here's our sneak, boys. Billy, kindly look around." [INSTRUMENTAL STOP] Billy stared at Gideon. [BEAT] Grey smiled. [VERSE 3] Billy crawled along the creek bed, Cursing Gideon as he went, Slipped between the rocks and willows, Reached the strangers' ragged tent. He had nearly reached their horses When a pistol hammer clicked; A voice behind him said, "Don't twitch, son." Billy very wisely didn't. [LOW FIDDLE NOTE — HUMOR ENDS] [VERSE 4] They were wanted men from somewhere, Hard-eyed riders, rough and mean; Three repeaters lay beside them, More revolvers could be seen. Their leader asked him, "Who you riding With this far beyond the farms?" Billy answered, "No one, mister." Then they tied behind his arms. [VERSE 5] One found tracks above the creek bed, One went climbing toward the trail; Billy heard a rifle chamber— Knew his little lie would fail. Then a voice came through the darkness, Easy, calm and almost bored; Gideon Grey called, "Evening, gentlemen. Best untie the boy you stored." [INSTRUMENTAL — LOW TREMOLO GUITAR] [VERSE 6 — DIALOGUE] Their leader laughed and told old Gideon, "Ride away while riding's free." Gideon answered, "Can't do that, friend. That small fellow rides with me." The outlaw raised his rifle slowly, Said, "Then Grey, you've made your choice." Gideon said, "You know my name, then." Something changed inside his voice. [2 BEATS SILENCE] [VERSE 7] The rifle fired— [HARD PERCUSSION CRACK] Grey's Colt answered, Old cap-and-ball against repeat; One shot knocked the rifle sideways, Second kicked dust at his feet. Before the other two could draw down, Grey had cocked that Colt once more; Gideon told them, "Three remain, boys. Let's not find what they are for." [BRIEF INSTRUMENTAL — FIDDLE + GUITAR TENSION] [VERSE 8] But fear can make a fool courageous, And the biggest outlaw drew; Torren shouted, Billy ducked down— Then a flash split darkness through. Fire rolled across the creek bed, Thunder shook the cottonwood; All three outlaws dropped their weapons. Gideon Grey did too. [2 BARS — INSTRUMENTS NEAR SILENCE] [VERSE 9] Torren crossed himself and whispered, "Thunder Caller, just as told." Gideon stared down at his fingers, Where his flash-powder tube he'd rolled. He had meant to make a bright light, Maybe smoke enough to run— But no powder in his jacket Could have made what had been done. [CORRIDO RHYTHM ENTERS — SUBTLE] [CHORUS] There are lies a man can live by, There are truths he doesn't know; There are trails that start in Greenvale Where a man don't mean to go. Billy Baggs had tried his sneaking, Gideon Grey had called the flame— And neither one was quite as certain Who had earned his growing name. [VERSE 10 — RELEASE TENSION] The three outlaws left their supper, Left some ammunition too; Left in such a mighty hurry That they left their horses' shoes. Abel cut the rope from Billy, Asked him, "How'd the sneaking go?" Billy looked across at Gideon— Gideon said, "He'll learn." Billy said, "No." [SHORT FIDDLE TURN] [VERSE 11] They ate supper by the creek bed, Found dry blankets, beans and bread; Finn asked Grey about the lightning, Grey pretended not to dread. Gideon told him, "Ancient secret. Takes a lifetime to explain." Then he quietly checked his powder— And looked upward for the rain. [FINAL CHORUS — WARMER] There are lies a man can live by, There are truths he doesn't know; There are roads beyond the homestead Only travelling can show. Billy wasn't much at sneaking— Not that anybody could tell— And Professor Gideon Grey Had started doubting Grey as well. [INSTRUMENTAL OUTRO — 8 BARS] [FIDDLE + SPANISH GUITAR] [COLT MOTIF: THREE SHORT NOTES] [THUNDER MOTIF ANSWERS ON LOW GUITAR] [STRONG FULL-BAND CADENCE] [HARD END] [NO WHISPER — NO FADE — NO SPOKEN OUTRO]

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